Historical information

This rug was woven in the mid-1990s at the Tascot Templeton Carpet (TTC) mills in Devonport, Tasmania. It was an in-house design. The rug was woven as a one-off design exercise and was given a Golden Thread Award by the Australian Wool Corporation. The design never went into standard stock production and was never released for public sale. This rug has been woven with 100% wool on a 1 metre wide loom. The loom was purchased by TTC from United Carpet Mills of Preston and the rug was woven to demonstrate the capabilities of these looms. This rug is an example of Wilton weaving. Wilton differs from Axminster in that it is usually Loop Pile and 100% wool whereas Axminster is Plush (cut) pile and normally 80/20 wool nylon blend. TTC manufactured primarily high-quality narrow and broad loom, Axminster and Wilton carpets for the domestic and commercial market. They operated from the early 1960s until their closure in 2011. This rug was also on display in the Tascot Templeton head offices before being donated to the National Wool Museum in 2021 by Roger Warn.

Physical description

3 x 3-meter carpet rug woven in 1-meter wide sections. The pattern repeats 3 times both in the width and the length. Starting from the bottom left corner, a square can be seen within a larger circular shape. These circular shapes connect end on end across the width and length of the rug. 5 Circles make up the length of the rug while 6 circles make up the width. Numerous small shapes encompass the entirety of the rug. These small shapes work together to form many interconnected repeating forms that draw your eye in a new direction every time you look at the rug. The predominant colour of the rug is a purple background with blue, cream and orange colours making up the foreground colours.